Roundup for 8th May 06

I don't have time to write a proper post today, so just a quick update on some interesting stuff I've seen around today.

SoonR - In Touch Now is a new service, reported on by TechCrunch, which allows you to access some of your computer from your Java-enabled phone. A potentially interesting ramification of this is their SoonR Talk idea, with which you tell Skype on your computer who you would like to call, and
then Skype calls you back using your SkypeOut credits. A great idea, except that I did the maths, and worked out that it cost pretty much the same as using my mobile. A shame, but a great idea.

Copywriting 101 has an interesting post on how to improve your blog by writing good copy. For example, it gives advice on how to write a good headline:

A headline can do more than simply grab attention. A great headline can also communicate a full message to its intended audience, and it absolutely must lure the reader into your body text.

Apparently there are 8 different types of headline. Obviously the fact that I don't know that is why my blog isn't as popular as Copywriting 101!

Zookoda - TechCrunch reports on new service Zookoda, which provides email marketing services for bloggers. Arrington makes the point that it could be percieved as just an unnecessarily convoluted competitor to FeedBurner by many bloggers, but it looks like it has some interesting features, including the ability to set templates for the email newsletters as well as other flexibility that FeedBurner just doesn't provide. I'd probably switch if I could be bothered!

A poster on Digg is drawing attention to what could be a very interesting podcast entitled

Beyond Search: Social and Personal Ways of Finding Information
Neil Hunt, Netflix; David Porter, Live365; Tom Conrad, Pandora; Kevin Rose, Digg; Joshua Schachter, del.icio.us; Rashmi Sinha, Moderator

Certainly an interesting bunch. I respect and use lots of the services on there (Pandora, Digg, Del.icio.us) and it should be a great podcast. All 1:48:49 of it.

Dave Winer's Share Your OPML service has gone live, and by all accounts is going very well. The services allows you to upload your OPML reading list (the file in which the feeds you read are stored if you use an RSS feedreader), and view other people's, including those with similar reading lists. To be honest, I find using a feedreader gives me information overload, and as efficient as it was, ReBlog gave me a headache when I had finished using it. It was just too efficient, so I've resorted to using a bookmarks folder for all my blogs, and clicking my way down the list, as far as I have time for.